CHONBURI, Thailand — The Philippines had a historic day in practical shooting at the 33rd Southeast Asian Games, winning four gold medals in a sport staged for the first time at the regional meet. Rolly Nathaniel Tecson, Edcel John Gino, Genesis Pible, and Erin Mattea Micor led the charge, closing out the three-day competition at the THPSA Shooting Range on Monday, Dec. 15.

Tecson and Micor lived up to their reputations as World Shoots medalists, topping the men’s standard individual and women’s open individual events, respectively. Gino and Pible dominated the men’s and women’s production optic individual categories, giving the Philippines a clean sweep in the inaugural events.

Tecson and Micor shine on debut

Reigning world champion Tecson totaled 1,680.7889 points to edge compatriot Kahlil Adrian Viray for the men’s standard individual gold. While Viray narrowly missed the podium due to the one-medal-per-country rule, Tecson’s victory highlighted the Philippines’ dominance, with Thailand’s Nathawat Nokthaisong and Indonesia’s Hans Christian Pratama taking silver and bronze.

Seventeen-year-old Micor impressed in the women’s open individual event, outclassing older competitors with a score of 1,399.3154 points. She defeated 26-year-old Sarah Ayu Tamaela of Indonesia and 36-year-old Mintra Pramote of Thailand, reflecting her growing confidence following a silver medal at the World Shoots.

Gino and Pible secure gold in production events

Edcel John Gino achieved 1,654.0344 points to claim the men’s production optic gold, while Genesis Pible posted 1,293.7900 points to top the women’s category. Both shooters edged their closest Thai rivals and expressed pride in representing the Philippines in the sport’s SEA Games debut.

“Napakalaking karangalan ito para sa amin at siyempre sa buong Pilipinas. Proud na proud kami na nakakuha kami ng gold medal dito sa SEA Games,” Pible said, reflecting the significance of the achievement for the team and the country.

The Philippines also won medals in all eight events at the practical shooting competition. Evelyn Woods took silver in the women’s production individual, while Gerard Loy (men’s open individual), Stefanie Kathrene Lee (women’s standard individual), and Aeron John Lanuza (men’s production individual) each earned bronze, highlighting the team’s depth and consistency.

The stellar showing marked a strong start for the Philippines in a new SEA Games discipline and demonstrated the country’s readiness to compete at the highest level in practical shooting.